by Dave Farthing | Sep 25, 2018 | History and Culture
The Mystery of the Brown Mountain Lights Of all the ghost stories, mysteries and legends in the mountains of North Carolina, one of the most enduring and fascinating is the Brown Mountain Lights. I remember in my early twenties, driving out with a group of friends...
by Dave Farthing | Sep 17, 2018 | History and Culture
Preserving Our Heritage and Culture The mission of the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center of Berea College in Kentucky is to serve Appalachia through education, develop service-oriented leaders, preserve and highlight the culture of the region, and “assist communities,...
by Dave Farthing | Apr 23, 2018 | History and Culture
The Appalachian mountain dulcimer is one of the most beautiful and popular of the folk instruments, easy for children and beginner adult musicians to learn. Ron Gibson calls it “a true American folk instrument developed by the people of the Appalachian Mountains.” The...
by Dave Farthing | Apr 6, 2018 | History and Culture
One of the long-standing Appalachian winter season traditions is hog killing and lye soap making. In addition to meat, the hog also provided enough meat fat through the spring, and one of the uses of lard was for making lye soap. Roger Hicks writes in his blog My...
by Dave Farthing | Mar 27, 2018 | History and Culture
A generation ago, parents complained of violence on television. Today they complain of violent videogames. Long before television and supermarket tabloids, however, local news of violent death and killing was passed from ear to ear in the form of folk music. These...
